


You're a Dumbass

by orphan_account



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, pricefield
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-24
Updated: 2015-04-24
Packaged: 2018-03-25 14:51:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3814546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Chloe learns that Max and Warren are going to a movie together, she decides to take fate into her own hands.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You're a Dumbass

**Author's Note:**

> A small fic for Atsirk Enoh on ff.net, in thanks for reviewing my other fic, FLD. A small one-shot, post-day 1 of what happened in-game. Not sure where this fits into the timeline, and I hope it doesn't sound too OOC, but here it is!

 

Chloe lounged in her bed, phone in her hand as she skimmed through various cat videos.  _Boring. Bored. More bored._  Biting her lip, Chloe thought about whether she should ask Max to hang out tonight, but she knew today was a weekday; Max probably had homework and shit to do.

Sighing, Chloe rolled over and put her arms under her pillow, her chin on top of it. Reaching her phone out in front of her, Chloe stared at it for a few moments before groaning and stuffing her face into the pillow. She didn't want to sound needy, but she didn't like being bored either. And as much as she hated to admit it, she liked being with Max, liked seeing Max laugh, liked how Max's face lit up when she took a photo—

Chloe pressed her face further into her pillow, her grip around her phone tightening.  _Fuck it._

Lifting her face up to her phone again, Chloe quickly typed out a text and pressed send.

" _hey wanna hang tonight"_

Chloe waited for Max's response.

" _Sorry, hanging with Warren at the drive-in movie tonight. Maybe tomorrow?"_

Something dark immediately seized Chloe's heart and she found herself almost crushing her phone in her hand.  _Fucking Waldo._  Chloe hated saying his name, and a low growl came from Chloe's throat as she considered throwing her phone against the wall; instead, she rolled onto her side and wrapped her arms tightly around her pillow. Gritting her teeth, Chloe tried to calm herself— _she's just hanging out with him. It's not a date._

She texted back.

" _np its cool"_

Short, succinct, and to the point. But 'cool' was definitely not what she was feeling; more like the exact opposite, a burning fire in her chest that teemed with frustration and jealousy.  _Chill._   _Just hanging. Not a date._

To keep herself from thinking any more bitter thoughts, Chloe decided to drive to one of her favorite hangouts—the lighthouse. Heading outside and getting into her truck, Chloe revved up the engine, hearing the satisfying roar as the car came to life. On the drive there, Chloe found herself checking the time on the dash every few minutes.  _The drive-in movie should start in about an hour…_

Chloe shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. The last thing she needed was to be unfocused while driving.

Once she got there, she parked the truck and slammed the door—a little too forcefully—before making her way up the hill and to the bench on the cliff. Sitting down on it, she lit a cigarette as she gazed out onto the sunset. The ocean reflected the orange rays of light, the waves occasionally bringing a splash of white to the sea.  _Not a date._

Chloe pulled out her phone and glanced at the time—about twenty minutes until the movie started. Chloe knew she was impulsive, and she tried to resist the urge to crash Max and Walby's hangout, unwilling to have Max think less of her. Taking another drag, Chloe scowled, glaring at Max's last text to her. Though she knew that Wally was a good friend of Max—he had saved her from Nathan Asscott—she couldn't help but feel the monster in her chest, snarling and clawing at her insides, urging her to take what was  _hers—_

No. Not mine.

Chloe shook her head again, her heart rate increasing and her breathing becoming slightly strained. The fact that Chloe was quick to anger was the reason why she'd ended up on the Arcadia Bay Police Station database, and God knows how many times her mom had to bail her out; clenching the phone in her hand, Chloe took another drag of her cigarette, trying to calm herself.

Glancing at her phone again, she noted it was ten minutes until the movie started.

_Fuck it._

Throwing her cigarette on the ground and snuffing it under the heel of her boot, Chloe whipped around and headed back to her truck. She started the engine and almost slammed the gas pedal, skidding out of the parking lot as she barreled down the highway.

* * *

It took about a half hour to get to the movie drive-in, meaning Chloe arrived twenty minutes into the movie, so the lot was almost entirely full by the time she got there. Parking her truck in the back row, Chloe got out and scanned the cars in front of her—she gave an exasperated huff as she realized she was going to have a tough time spotting Wallace's piece of junk car among them. The evening was closing in, making the only light in the area the movie screen a ways away and the few streetlights leading into the car lot.

_Fine. I'll look for it another way._

Chloe climbed into the bed of her truck before hauling herself up on top of the cab, giving her a high vantage point. She searched each row of the lot thoroughly until— _there._  The blue piece of crap excuse for a car (not that her truck wasn't a piece of junk either) was in the third row.

Jumping off her truck, Chloe smoothly made her way through the cars, ducking every now and then to avoid getting in anyone's way. As she approached Wilfred's car, she came up with an idea.

Putting on the most terrified and out-of-breath expression she could muster, Chloe ran the last few steps to the car and knocked on the glass of the passenger side door.

" _Max!"_

Turning in her seat, Chloe saw Max turn, her expression turning from shocked, to bewildered, to worried within the span of a few seconds. Across from Max, Willard looked just as confused at Chloe's sudden appearance.

Max hurriedly rolled down the window. "Holy  _shit_ , Chloe! What are you do—"

"Max,  _hurry!_ There's an emergency, we need to go," Chloe said urgently, already opening the car door and grabbing onto Max's hand.

"What's wr—"

"No time for questions!  _We have to go now!_ " Chloe said, trying to sound desperate.

Chloe could see Max hesitating, glancing over at  _him_ , and though she hated pulling this card, she did it anyway.

" _Please_ , Max. I need you," she begged, tugging on Max's hand a little more urgently. Max bit her lip but got out of the car, closing the car door with her free hand.

"Sorry, Warren, I-I'll make it up to you!" Max called to her friend as Chloe pulled Max back towards her truck.

Making it back to Chloe's truck, Max was full of questions, and before they could get in, she pulled on Chloe's hand, making her turn around and face her.

"Chloe, what's  _wrong?_  What happened?! Are you okay?!"

_Shit. I didn't plan this far._

Her face reddening, Chloe avoided making eye contact with Max.

"Uh…" Chloe shifted uneasily on her feet, her grip on Max's hand tightening as she tried to come up with some excuse.

Impulsive and unthinking, as always, Chloe blurted out her honest thoughts.

"I like you."

"What?"

_God. Fuck me._

Swallowing, Chloe said it louder, this time looking up to meet Max's eyes.

"I  _like_  you."

Max just stood there, dumbfounded, mouth open. After a moment, Max closed her mouth and looked away, blushing furiously.

"Chloe, you're a dumbass," Max huffed, letting go of Chloe's hand to wrap her arms around Chloe's torso, face pressed against Chloe's shoulder.

Shocked at Max's reaction, Chloe just said the first thing that came to her mind.

" _You're_  a dumbass."

Chloe heard Max laugh, a light sound that lifted her spirits, bringing a smile to her face; she hugged Max closely to her, pressing her face lightly against Max's hair and inhaling the scent of strawberries.  _God. This feels so fucking nice._

"So I'm a dumbass for liking you back?" Max asked playfully, leaning away and smirking at Chloe's surprised expression.

"You like me back?" Chloe said, stunned.

"Yeah, I do," Max laughed, standing on her toes to give Chloe a kiss on the cheek. "Now c'mon, Girl Wonder. I can't go back to Warren, so it looks like we're hanging out tonight."

Her heart leaping with joy, Chloe wrapped Max in her arms again; things couldn't have turned out better, and she couldn't help but grin, the feeling of happiness flowing through her.

"Sounds like a date."


End file.
